US economy adding jobs at robust pace; Wisconsin job loss record is worst-in-the-nation

MADISON – Mitt Romney’s say-anything presidential campaign has been crisscrossing Wisconsin trying to convince voters the national economy is not recovering, while Scott Walker is taking credit for Wisconsin’s economic “comeback.” A recent analysis comparing Wisconsin’s job growth under Walker to the US economy noted bluntly, “Wisconsin has lost more jobs since Walker took office than any other state.” This weekend, the LA Times explained the dissonance as “a jarring display of how political imperatives can lead candidates of the same party to examine the same set of facts and reach wildly different conclusions that suit their needs for an upcoming election.”

“Mitt Romney’s praise for Scott Walker’s policies that have earned him the unenviable worst-in-the-nation jobs record for 2011 – and Walker’s fantasy that his record is a success – show how truly out-of-touch both politicians are with the reality faced by ordinary working Wisconsinites,” said We Are Wisconsin spokesman Kelly Steele. “While America added more than 2 million jobs last year and Wisconsin ranked 50th in job growth – actually losing 12,500 jobs – those facts don’t comport with the political agendas of Mitt Romney and Scott Walker, so instead they’ve simply chosen distortions and lies.”

Walker and the multimillionaire Wall Street bankers and Texas oil barons backing his “It’s Working” campaign simply cannot square their message with the facts. In addition to the worst overall jobs record in the nation, the same recent analysis revealed that Wisconsin is “36th among the 50 states in private-sector job growth since Walker took office (using December 2010 as the baseline), well below Wisconsin’s closest Midwestern neighbors.” More than 14 thousand public-sector jobs were lost during Walker’s first thirteen months—the second largest decline in America after Texas.